Elevator for rods, tubes, and the like



Feb. 24, 1925. 1,521,272

J. P. RATI GAN ELEVATOR FOR RODS, TUBES, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 14. 1923 Patented Feb, Z4, 1925.

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JAMES P. RATIGAN, OF LGS ANGELES, CALIFGRNIA.

ELEVAI'O'R FOR RODS, TUBES, AND THE LIKE.

Application filed'February 14, 1923. Serial No. 618,909.

Be it known that l, JAMES l. Barron?, a citizen of the United States. residing at Los Angeles, in the county ot Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Elevator tor Rods, Tubes, and the like, ot which the following is a specilieat-ion.

This invention relates to that type ot tool employed in connection with wells ttor elevatting` sucker rods, pump tubing' and the like, and an object et the invention, in greneral, is to provide an elevator that can be readily employed with rods and tubing ot various diameters. There .is a two-told advantage in this, one beinev that the manu- Vfacturer need produce and the jobber ltecp on hand only the one size ot elevator` and the other advantage beingn that the single elevator may be employed in the operation of wells employing ditt'erent diameters et suc-ker rods and pump tubing'.

Another object is to provide a construetion ythat will be materiallv stronger than elevators at present in use. This elevator is so constructed'as to eliminate shearing strains between the hail and the elevator body. The construction also is of such character as to bring` the bearings tor the bail closer to the axis ot the rods or tubes beine' elevated than heretotore, thus dccrcasine` the leverage on the elevator body-cruised hv the application of power to the body ecceutrically ot' the load.

Another object is to provide tor 'adjustability of the elevator body to diiierent sizes ol rods and tubes and atthe same time insuring against the smaller sizes ot rods or tubing dropping out ot the elevatorn in case of the means tor holding the parts adjusted accidentally becoming loosened.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention:

Figure 1 is a front elevation ot an elevator constructed in accordance with the provisions'oi" this invention, a 'fragment ol a sucker rod' being indicated in broken lines suspended from the elevator. v

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Figure 1, the hail being shown in section.

Fig. 8 is a rear elevation looking in the direction ot the' arrow 3Figure 2.

Fig. 4 isa plan section onthe line indicated by 1-l, Figurel.,

atively movable sections 11, 12 that together Y delin'e a slot 13 adapted to accommodate a portion o1" the rod or tubingthat is to be elevated. Some features ot the invention are ot advantage irrespective of whether the elevator body is constructed as one piece or in sections, but the sectional construction is preferred and is therefore illustrated audv described. The body section 12 is provided with a groove or way 111v to slidably receive one leg 15 ot the body section 11 which is more or less L-shaped. The sections 11, 12 in reality7 constitute relatively adjustable jaws, and a cap screw 16 screw-threaded into the leg' 15 and bearing; against a laterally extending arm 17 of the section 12 constitutes one form oi' means to hold said sections in the positions to which they are adjusted. The arm 17 lies alone; the outer face oit' the leg- 15 and is constructed to spring away trom the leg' 15 when the cap screw is loose. Thus when the cap screw is tightened the arm 17 functions as a spring lock washer for the cap screw.

The cap screw '1G muy be provided with a washer 18, wliicl1,as is evident, may be omitted, it' it is not desired to use the saine. The cap screw passes through a slot 19 in the arm 17 and the washer 18 is provided with a lug 20 projecting into the slot. Then the body sections are adjusted nearer together for a rod or tubing' ot smaller dialneter, the lug 2O is positioned between the bolt and the outer end of the slot, as in Fig. 11, thus limiting expansion ot the elevator body, in event of the cap screw 16 becoming' loose, to a greater degree than would the outer end wall of the slot. lhen a larger rod or tube is positioned in the slot 13, the washer 18 will be adjusted, after iirst looseningthe bolt, to a position diametrieally op posite that shown in Figure ll, thus causing the lug to be interposed between the cap screw and the inner end oit' the'slot 19.

Though l have illustrated and described one construction for adjustably connecting the sections 11, 12, it is to be understood that other constructions may be employed within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The opposed walls of the sections 11, 12, defining the sides of the slot 13, are preferably beveled outwardly as indicated at 21 so as to more freely admit the entrance of the rod or tubing to the slot 13.

Preferably the upper faces of the sections 11, 12, adjacent to the side margins of the slot 13, are provided with depressions, recesses or concavities 22 so that when the rod, or other member to be elevated, is placed in the slot 13, such rod or other member will tend to center itself in relation to the balancing axis of the elevator body. A plane passing through the axis of the recesses 22 also passes through the axes of the pivots 23 of a bail 24. Thus, when the elevator body is suspended by the bail and a rod or tubing is in place in the slot 13, the weight represente-.l by the suspended rod will be centrally of the plane of the pivots of the bail so that the elevator body will be in perfect balance.

Each pivot 23 is mounted in a pair of spaced ears 25 which project from the upper face of the elevator body, one pair from the section 11 and other pair from the section 12. The innermost ear 25 of each pair is positioned quite close to the associated recess 22, thus to bring the opposite ends of the bail 24 as close as possible to the points at which the rod or tubing rests upon the elevator body. Thus the length of the lever arms, between the pivots and the points o-f contact of the elevator rod with the elevator, are comparatively short. The usual construction in prior elevators is to pivot the bail on the side faces of the elevator body. It will be understood from the foregoing that, for any given amount of metal, my elevator will be stronger than one having the bail pivoted to the sides of the elevator body.

It is desirable to make provision for releasably retaining the sucker rod or tubing in the slot 13. Any suitable means may be provided for this, within the scope of the invention, but I will describe a construction that I at present prefer for this purpose. A latch bolt 26 is accommodated in a chamber 27 formed in the body section 11. There is a coil spring 28 in the chamber 27 surrounding the latch bolt between a shoulder 29 o-n said bolt and a shoulder 30 in the chamber 27. This spring 28 normally projects the latch bolt into the slot 13. The latch bolt 26 is beveled on its inner end, as indicated at 31. When the latch bolt is projecting into the slot 13, the outer end of the bevel is substantially Hush with the adjacent face 21 of the section 11. Movement of the bolt 26 into the slot 13 is limited by a shoulder 32 on the bolt, said shoulder being formed by the inner end of a knob 33 whereby the bolt is operated. The knob 33 is protected against injury by a plurality of spaced outstanding fingers 34. of the section 11, the spaces between said lingers permitting the operator to grasp thc knob between his thumb and finger to retract the latch bolt.

There may be more or less clearance bctween the bail bearings 35 and the ears 25, and such clearance will readily permit of a certain degree of expansion and contraction of the elevator body. If expansion of thc elevator body, to a greater degree than provided for by the clearance just mentioned, is desired, the cap screw 16 may be tightened slightly and the end of the arm 17 tapped with a hammer to force thc sec tions 11, 12 away from one another against the yielding pressure of the bail upon the ears 25, thus springing the bail sutciently to permit of such widening of the slot 13 as is necessary to accommodate the larger diameter rod or pipe that it may beV desired to elevate.

The construction of the invention will be yunderstood from the foregoing description and, in operation, the sucker rod or pipe to be elevated will be forced into the slot 13 past the latch bolt 26, thus causing said latch bolt to be retracted. 7e may assume, forrexample, that the sucker rod, indicated at L in Figure 1, is to be elevated. Such sucker rod is provided with an enlarged portion b forming a shoulder c that terminates the upper end of a wrench seat d. In Fig. l, the shoulder c rests in the concavities 22, but it is to be understood that, if desired, the rod may be placed with the wrench seat projecting above the upper face of the elevator body, in which event the shoulder e, terminating the lower end of the wrench seat, will be engaged with the concavities 22. It is understood that the sections 11, 12 will be relatively adjusted before the rod or tubing is engaged so as to produce the requisite width of slot 13 for whatever size of rod or tubing is to be elevated.

I claim:

1. In an elevator of the character described, the combination of a body having a slot, a pair of spaced ears projecting from the upper face of the body adjacent to each of the side margins of the slot, a pivot supported by each pair of ears, and a bail engaging the pivots between the ears of each pair.

2. In an elevator of `the character described, the combination of a body having a l slot and having concavities adjacent to the side margins of the slot, a pair of spaced ears projecting from the upper face of the body adjacent to each of the side margins of the slot, a pivot supported by each pair of ears and positioned with its axis in a plane that passes through the axes of the concavities, and a bail engaging the pivots between the ears of each pair.

3. In an elevator of the character described, the combination of a body having a slot and having a chamber `opening from the slot to the outer tace et the body, a shoulder in said chamber, a latch bolt slidably mounted in the chamber and having a shoulder, a coil spring surrounding the latch bolt between the two shoulders, lingers on the outer tace of the body adjacent the chamber, and a linob on the outer face of the latch protected by the lingers.

el.. In an elevator of the character described, the combination et a body comprising' relatively adjustable sections defining a slot between them, means to secure the sections in the adjusted positions, and a bail having its opposite ends connected with the respective` sections.

5. In an elevator of the character described, the combination of a body comprising relatively adjustable sections defining a slot between them, there being a guide way in one et' the sections and the other section being L-shaped and having one of its legs slidably iitting in the guide way, means to secure the sections in the adjusted positions, and a` bail having its opposite ends connected with the respective sections.

6. In an elevator of the character described, the combination of a body comprising relatively adjustable sections defining a slot between them, one of the sections having an arm provided with a slot and said arm tending to spring away from the other section, and a screw threaded into said seeond section and projecting through the slot and adapted to be tightened to spring the arm toward the second section.

7. In an elevator of the character described, the combination et a body comprising relatively adjustable sections defining a slot between them, one et the sections having a slot, a screw threaded into the other section and projecting` through the slot, and a washer on the screw provided with a lug projecting into the slot between the bolt and one end of the slot to limit relative movement between the sections.

8. In an eleva-tor ot' the character described, the combination of a body comprising two members in adjustable relation at one end, the other ends o'f said :members being spaced to admit rof the entrance oit' a. rod therebetween, one ot the members being L- shaped and the other member having a groove to receive one leg et the L-shape member and means to releasably secure the members in the adjusted positions.

Signed at Los Angeles, Calif., this 8th day of February 1923.

JAMES P. RATIGAN. 

